While general audiences may have enjoyed Billy Madison, the 1995 film that starred Adam Sandler as an adult who re-enrolls in elementary school, the same could not be said for critics. Poor critical reception of the film led Sandler to reconsider reading reviews as he considered them “so harsh.” As a young man looking to break into the business, Sandler didn’t even think about critics. He told Entertainment Weekly:

Billy Madison, which Sandler co-wrote alongside Tim Herlihy, wouldn’t be the last of Sandler’s films to rub critics the wrong way:

“When I was 17 and I got into this, I didn’t think about critics. I didn’t even realize that stuff was coming. I just thought you made movies, people go see it. When Billy Madison came out, me and my friend who wrote it, we were just like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re going to write about this in New York!’ We grew up reading the papers, we were going to NYU. And then we read the first one and we were like, ‘Oh my god, what happened? They hate us.’ And then we were like, ‘It must have been this paper,’ but then 90 percent of the papers are going, ‘This is garbage.’”

“I say the first two or three, ‘Happy Gilmore,’ ‘The Wedding Singer,’ we would still kinda hear about it. People would call us up, ‘Can you believe they said this about you?’ I’d be like, ‘I didn’t read it, man.'”

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From Poor Reviews to Critical Acclaim

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Times have certainly changed for the seasoned actor, though. He is currently doing press rounds for the Netflix film Hustle, where he plays a basketball scout who finds a talented player abroad. The film has received critical praise for both Sandler and director Jeremiah Zagar. Regarding the success of the film, and particularly his part in it, Sandler said:

Earlier this week, Sandler received a performer tribute award at the 32nd Annual Gotham Awards in New York City. Sandler became known for appearing on Saturday Night Live, where he was initially hired as a writer. Throughout the 1990s, he became known for his comedic portrayals in films like The Waterboy, Happy Gilmore, and The Wedding Singer.

“I’m glad I’m getting praise, I’ll take it, but everybody worked hard on the movie. I had a great part and I did the best I could with it.”

While Sandler made a name for himself through comedy, acknowledgment of his more dramatic portrayals shows his versatility. Besides Hustle, Sandler recently received praise for his portrayal of Howard Ratner in the Safdie brother’s crime thriller Uncut Gems. Howard is a jeweler with a gambling addiction who is on a mission to get an expensive gem he purchased that will help him pay off debt. The role has been considered by many as Sandler’s best work. Overall, the critical response to the film was overwhelmingly positive, and the National Board of Review chose it as one of the top 10 films of 2019.

Sandler has a couple of upcoming features, including Murder Mystery 2; another Safdie brother features that is currently untitled; and Spaceman, a science fiction film based on Spaceman of Bohemia, the 2017 novel by Jaroslav Kalfař. Spaceman is scheduled for a 2023 release on Netflix.